Transcript Andrew Curtin PowerPoint - Bellefonte Area School District

ANDREW GREGG
CURTIN
“Among the loyal governors of
the Northern States during the
rebellion, none were placed in
circumstances requiring greater
watchfulness, or more prompt
and decisive action, than the
patriotic Governor of
Pennsylvania, and none fulfilled
their high trust with greater
fidelity and loyalty.”
Early Life
Born in Bellefonte, PA
 April 2, 1817
 Father Rowland Curtin
 Iron Manufacturer;
left ample fortune
for family including Andrew

Education
Educated in Milton, Northumberland, PA
 Law School – Carlisle, PA

Before becoming Governor……
Became a lawyer in Bellefonte
 Secretary of the
Commonwealth
 Supporter of
Abraham Lincoln
 Advocate of Education

Andrew G. Curtin
Pennsylvania Governor
 Republican
 Inaugurated Jan. 15th, 1861

CIVIL WAR
What event was the start of the Civil War?
 First person Lincoln called to
Washington, D.C.?

Congressmen James G. Blaine

“On the eleventh day of April, one day
before the South precipitated the conflict,
the Legislature of PA passed an act for the
better organization of the militia, and
appropriated five hundred thousand
dollars to carry out the details of the
measure. It was the first official step in
the loyal States to defend the Union……”
Civil War Governor
 1st
Regiment to enter
nation’s capital in
defense
of the Union
 25th Pennsylvania
Volunteers
Civil War Governor
PA was threatened and border invaded
 Capital threatened
 One of Bloodiest battles of the war

Civil War Governor

Required Governor Curtin calmness and
execution to re-assure his people and
organize them for resistance to the
invaders
What he had to face
3 times PA was invaded
 90,000 troops led by Lee within States
borders

His response
Utmost Promptness to every call of the
national government
 Troops, moral, or political support

After leaving office
Re-Elected 1863
 Continued to help Republican Party as a
speaker
 Appointed U.S. Minister to Russia
 Returned to politics; served in Congress
for 3 terms (Democrat)

CURTIN
VILLAGE
A local
Ghost Town??
What is a
Ghost Town?

term for any once
flourishing American
community that has
been abandoned,
generally for economic
reasons. While most of
the towns have little or
no population, they
often contain old
buildings, which may
serve as tourist
attractions
Where is Curtin Village?

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab
=wl
CURTIN VILLAGE
Founded around 1810 Roland Curtin
 Iron Plantation Community
 Last old-style iron furnace

Roland Curtin
Irish Immigrant
 Arrived 1793; escape French Revolution
 First coroner
 Sheriff
 Married Margery Gregg

Roland Curtin
Partner Moses Boggs purchased 11,000
acres (7,000 timber)
 erected Eagle Iron Works
 First iron was shipped to
Pittsburgh by horses
 Located along
Bald Eagle Creek
 Sold to Curtin 1815

CURTIN VILLAGE
30,000 acres provided for the whole
community
 Furnace operation 1922
 Iron producing
center from
1810 until 1922


As Curtin's great-grandson later recounted,
"Everything required had to be transported on flatboats . . . or on pack horses over mountain trails,
roads cut thru forests, dams built, ore mined, wood
chopped . . . and . . . converted into charcoal,
waterwheels and blowing machinery for furnaces
and forges constructed . . . before a pound of iron
was made."
Why the location?
Huge amount of iron deposits
 Dense forests
 Limestone supply for flux
 Water supply for
power

Curtin Village
Products: charcoal, bloom, bar, and rod
iron
 Canal built and opened 1848
 Bald Eagle/Spring Creek Navigation
Company
 Route to Lock Haven

Pennsylvania Canals
Curtin Village
Railroad replaced
canals
 Curtin family got
involved in the railroad industry
 Train stop at
Curtin and
post office called
Roland

CURTIN VILLAGE
Iron "plantation"
 60 structures
- Ironmaster's Mansion
- charcoal-fired iron furnace (only stack
remains)
- rolling mill
- forge
- worker's village

IRON PLANTATION
Two areas: Industry & Community
 Self-Sufficient
 Ironmaster and family at top
 Other positions
determined
by occupation

15 rooms
(10 still open to public)
 10 fireplaces
Curtin’s
 Walls 2 ft. thick
 Curtin family
home
until 1950s

Mansion
PLEASANT FURNACE
Erected 1848
 Destroyed by fire 1921
 Last coal blast furnace in U.S.
 Restored charging house, blast house with
overshot waterwheel, flume, casting
rooms, and tapping shed


During its heyday, about 600 tons a year
of pig iron and cast-sheet and bar iron
were produced.
Worker’s Village
Log Cabins (restored today 1825)
 “Village Green”
 Two types: Ironmaster/Family and
Worker’s houses
 1-2 Story houses
(some still remain)

Ironmaster’s Family
Mansion built by Roland Curtin (1830)
 Abandoned 1951
 2 and ½ floors made of stone
 Huge central hallway
 4 Main rooms
 Fireplaces

Curtin Family
Sons: Austin, James, Roland Jr., and Andrew
Gregg
 Andrew Gregg Curtin
- Trustee Advisor,
supporter &
friend of
President Lincoln
 Roland Sr.
retired 1848
 Passed onto sons

Central PA During Civil War

Aikey House – during Civil War
CURTIN VILLAGE
What Remains?
60 acres of land, Old Mill, 1830 Plantation
house, couple of houses.
Gristmill (only 4 unstable
walls remain)
Store, church, rail station,
school

Today……….

In the one-hundred-eleven years of iron
production in this village contributed to
today's industrial and social status of
Pennsylvania. That Eagle Furnace was in
active production for such a long period
and that so much of the community
remains combine to make the restoration
of Curtin a valuable and desirable project.
End of Curtin Village

Because of new high-quality iron ore
deposit discoveries, changes in
technology, and rising costs of production,
the Eagle Iron Works, which was one of
the last active charcoal iron manufacturers
"blew out" for the last time in 1921.